Definitions for offing

the more distant part of the sea seen from the shore, beyond the anchoring ground.

a position at a distance from shore.

in the offing, a. at a distance but within sight. b. in the projected future; likely to happen: A wedding is in the offing.

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Citations for offing

The offing was barred by a black band of clouds, and the tranquil waterway leading to the outermost ends of the earth flowed sombre under an overcast sky--seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness.Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness, 1902

I, poor miserable Robinson Crusoe, being shipwrecked, during a dreadful storm, in the offing, came on shore on this dismal unfortunate island, which I called the Island of Despair, all the rest of the ship's company being drowned, and myself almost dead.Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe, 1719

Origin of offing

1620-1630

Offing is formed from the adverb off meaning "away from a place" and the suffix -ing. It entered English in the early 1600s.